Out Of Depth
by CrimsonCobwebs
Summary: A foolish secret. A foolish whim. Curiousity. Desire. Denial... Oneshot. In-game fluff. Rated for sexual themes/lime. Review please!


_(because I can't quite get over the zidane/garnet pairing enough to stop writing one shots)_

(Out of Depth.)

_(i see you breaking up in water  
sinking to the bottom  
watching reruns of my dreams  
we fade away tonight)_

The twin moons were bare tonight, shining bright as suns and laying down their milky blanket on the land beneath. Upon the lake, which was settled like a rug of darkness between the darker trees, ghostly parodies of the moons quivered upon the water's surface, as delicate and whimsical as virgin pearls.

A figure waded into the pool with smooth, confident strides. Wearing nothing save underwear, the water rippled like black silk around her thighs and the tiny pebbles slid between her toes. The water, neither icy nor warm, was enough to raise goosebumps upon her flesh.

Garnet Til Alexandros XVII stared up at the stars and swirled the water around her fingertips, savouring the texture. No one knew she had left; and why should they? It was gone midnight and the forest was quiet, the campers too devoured by their own weariness to notice as she slipped into the night and backtracked to the lake they had passed. It was not far, and she feared little of what the darkness held. Her senses were keen and she was not ashamed to flee if need be.

She had wanted to bathe, and so she shall.

The water lapped seductively at her thighs. The tiny lake, more like a lagoon than anything, was rimmed on one half by tall reeds, motionless in the breezeless night. Trees stood to attention around its rim and occasionally Garnet would hear a frog croak, or discern the bark of an unseen nocturnal animal or shrill cry of a nightime bird.

She strode along the rim, listening to the lullaby of the water and watching the moon's reflections fragment and scatter in the ripple's wake. When she had passed it earlier during daylight the water had been crystal clear, beautiful. She had been entranced by its simple splendour, it was like nothing she had experienced at the castle.

During her _previous _life.

Being here, alone with her thoughts, her body and her soul, almost made her forget her troubles with Kuja… with finding the Black Mage Village… everything…

"Skinny dipping?"

Garnet's body lurched and the water shuddered violently in response as she startled from the unexpected intrusion.

_Oh dear, beloved, merciful gods please no!_

She turned and found Zidane, naked from the waist up, standing not a few feet from the water's edge. His arms were crossed over his chest in a chiding manner but on his face blossomed a playful smile that she could barely discern within the thick shadow.

"I…I… beg your pardon?" was all she could say.

Zidane let his arms drop to his side and his smile widened so much she could clearly discern it in the semidarkness. "You sound like a right royal," he told her, half jokingly. "Been a while since you talked like that!"

"Y-you startled me so much I… reverted back to my past linguistics…" she blundered stupidly.

She crossed her arms to feign anger, but really it was a poor attempt to cover her modesty. Though the moonlight revealed little detail, he would, no doubt, clearly distinguish the curve of her waist, thighs and the swell of her breasts, sparsely contained within her tightly drawn corset.

Infused with embarrassment, she became angry.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped. "You were asleep when I left!"

"What made you think that?"

She paused. "You…you _looked_ asleep."

Zidane crossed his arms again, the smile snuffed out like a candle in wind. "You shouldn't sneak out of the camp without telling anyone. It's dangerous. What if you'd encountered monsters? There are some pretty nasty ones here, not to mention we're still pretty unfamiliar with the area."

"I can fight," Garnet opposed, trying her best to sound fierce. She decided not to mention her plan to flee if she should happen upon such foe.

The thief sighed, defeated or just too weary to argue. "Anyway," he said, "I came to see what the hell you were up to."

She rubbed her arms awkwardly, still painfully aware of her exposed body, and his for that matter. The moonlight dappled his bare skin with strips of silver, and inky shadow pooled into muscular curves. His face was bathed in darkness. For all she knew he could be drinking in her body right then…

"I am… I am bathing. Obviously. What else would I be doing?"

"Swimming?"

"I can't -" The words stuck in her throat.

Somewhere behind her a frog croaked, like a jeer.

"You can't what?" Zidane pressed.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"Really, it's nothing."

Zidane suddenly approached her, entering the lake. His ripples collided with hers and the water swished around him like a black cloak. She thought he would stop before her but he didn't. Instead, the blonde moved by and dived head first into the pool. She shrieked a little, and the water sliced away from him, spraying her with cold flecks and making the toads protest fervently.

His head broke the surface and the moon's reflection rippled around him like liquid silver, dancing with the ripples. He face split with a grin, teeth gleaning dully in the moonlight and he absently wiped the water from his face.

Garnet stared at him with astonishment. The lake was deeper than she'd thought; his feet were paddling three feet from the bottom.

"What _are _you doing?" she asked, exasperation apparent in her tone. "I was not swimming, and neither should you, really. It's night."

"So?"

"I…You…" _Darn_.

"Come swim with me."

Garnet blinked at him several times, cursing her loose tongue and his scheming mind.

"I…I'm not… decent," she excused herself pathetically.

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Come _ooonnn_. Ruby wears less than that. Anyway, I know the real reason you can't come in." His voice was sing-song teasing.

"I wont come in because it's dark, cold and I am wearing little. It's not proper for me to be… to be frolicking about in some pool, Zidane."

"Who said anything about frolicking?" he said with a giggle. "But if you insist…"

"I do not!"

"Aw, you tease!"

Garnet turned on her heel abruptly and stomped as best she could through the water, tired of being humiliated.

"Wait!" Zidane called, and she heard a flurry of watery sounds. "You want me to teach you how to swim?"

She paused. The water was around her ankles and she dully noted that he was undoubtedly drinking in her behind. She backed into deeper water. It was an icy hand upon her back.

"You want me to teach you how to swim?" he repeated.

She turned and looked at him. He'd waded into shallower water, but it was still deep enough to curl seductively around his chest. His hair was slicked back from his eyes, which reflected the moons' silvery rays. They seemed to shimmer and ripple with the reflections. Streaks of water left wet trails down his arms and neck. She found herself feeling oddly fluttery inside.

Garnet nodded.

He grinned boyishly and took a step into deeper water. "C'mon then! Can't guarantee you'll be a pro by the end of the lesson, and I charge by the hour, I'll have you know."

"Idiot!"

Garnet glided into the water, feeling it soak into her hair which billowed about her face like obsidian mist. The water crept up to her navel, then breasts, then shoulders. She noted with dismay and unfamiliar feelings of… pride and anticipation, that Zidane unashamedly eyed the rise of the water that slowly devoured her partially revealed figure.

He cleared his throat.

"Alright then, you've watched people swim before, right?"

She cocked her head. "At times. When I was young Steiner used to conduct drills of rescue in the canal with the Pluto Knights." She giggled at some unspoken image. "They were so funny to watch."

Zidane nodded vaguely. "Well, watch me for now."

He pushed off the bottom and floated upon the surface on his back, kicking and pushing the water, his arms loving in languid circles. He drifted round the pool, circling Garnet and staring up at the star studded sky. Then he rolled with surprising grace onto his belly and resumed kicking and rotating his arms, a little like a frog, Garnet thought.

Eventually, he came to a halt. "Easy," he summarised with an encouraging grin. "Now your turn. I'll take your arms."

"What?" she cried, a little startled. Swimming would involve _touching _him? Garnet was not prude in matters of reproduction, nor completely naïve, but the very thought of letting a very wet (and strangely enticing) Zidane lay hand upon her own rather wet skin sent shivers of both anticipation and horror up her spine.

He advanced toward her. "Gods Dagger, you look like I've just suggest an orgy with the whole of Alexandria!"

"What's an 'orgy'?"

He hesitated. "Nevermind. I'll only be holding your arms so you don't sink, don't worry. You know I'd never… I wouldn't…."

He trailed off, awkward, a trait he so rarely displayed.

Garnet nodded. "Alrighty, that's fine. Show me how to swim."

Returning to his normal self, Zidane nodded and smiled winningly. He gently gripped her below the shoulders and guided into deeper water. Garnet felt the pebbles slide away beneath her feet and suddenly, alarmingly, found herself treading water. She sunk until water pooled into her gaping mouth and she spluttered a little, forgetting her previous concerns and gripping Zidane's outstretched arms tightly.

He smiled. "It's okay, I promise I wont let you go."

Although Garnet was too short to touch the ground, Zidane was not, and he pushed himself backward around the rim of the deep area, pulling her with him. Her body floated horizontally, and she felt as if unseen watery hands were guiding her. Eventually, it became almost relaxing and she suddenly noticed how firm the muscles beneath her palms were and the warmth of his own hands pressed against her arms. As she drifted he spoke to her in a soft, rich voice.

"So how come you don't know how to swim?"

"I was never taught. Mother and Father said it was unbecoming of a princess to be floundering in water like a fish."

"But swimming could save your life!"

Garnet nodded slowly. "True, but then I've always had people around me to save me and intervene. I would never have been left to my own accord around seas and rivers and such."

"That's a little sad."

"Mmm." She guessed it might of sounded sad to a nomadic, independent, thief, but to her it was normality. Though thinking about it, she wondered whether she could ever go back to such an ensnaring lifestyle…

"Alright, good," Zidane said, breaking her trance. "Now start kicking your legs real gently. Don't splash loads. This'll be your main drive when swimming."

She did as he bade, trying to avoid staring at his chest, and pushed herself through the water. They completed a lap of the pool successfully, though the frogs croaked at the rippling water indignantly.

"Okay now you have to use your arms," the thief told her.

"Don't let go of me!"

"I'll have to let go of your arms-"

"No don't!" She was painfully aware of how childish she sounded, but the comforting swell of the lagoon quickly became a black beast with gripping, pulling claws.

"Hey, okay, listen. I'll do this." h loosened his grip and she tightened hers. He caught her gaze in his and stared hard into her eyes, silvery-brown in the moonlight. "_Trust me_."

She stared at him, heart fluttering wildly from an unfamiliar feeling, and nodded.

He released her arms and faster than she thought possible in water, moved to her side and placed a hand on her belly and held her weightless form aloft in the water.

Despite the chill of the night and water, Garnet felt a warmth spreading pinking her cheeks. She was glad the darkness hid it, and thanked the gods that the corset covered the flesh on her belly.

"Okay?" Zidane asked.

Was that a stutter in his voice?

"Yes. I think so." She felt precariously balanced. The water shifted her position gently, lovingly.

"Then start copying the arm movements I made earlier. That's it. Make the circles a little wider. No, no, don't splay your fingers; push them together… like a paddle. You have to push the water away - yeah, like that!"

Garnet did her best to mimic Zidane's earlier gestures and felt the water grudgingly allow to be pushed away. All the while Zidane's hand gripped her stomach gently, a comforting, intimate presence she couldn't shake.

"Now combine that with the kicks."

At first she splashed terribly, causing an awful racket. Then she slipped her feet further beneath the inky surface and gracelessly propelled herself through the water. She was not the image of dignity, but she was immensely proud of herself so far.

"That's brilliant," Zidane encouraged. "But you're gonna have to work harder now. Ready?"

"Wh-what?"

"Steady?"

"Zid -"

"_Go_!"

His hand vanished beneath her and the water rushed into her ears, up her nose. Bubbles and shadow and moonlight became a single entity. The water gurgled in her ears, and all the while she kicked fervently and pushed with her arms. She definitely moved but barely floated, and managed to gulp in a pocket of air or two, but swallowed a lot of pool water in the process. Cold panic enveloped her as she sank further into darkness.

"Z-Zid…egh…Zi…ar-ck…dan…!"

And then his hand was back and she, tired, frightened and panting, gripped his arm and pulled herself toward him until their bodies were pressed together and she could wrap her arms around his neck and grateful lift her weight from the dark, swirling, beckoning water, safe now, savouring the weightlessness he provided her.

She caught her breath, finally, and realised she was almost fully out of the water. It took her a moment to realise he had snaked an arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back and was holding her like a baby, almost cradling her to his chest, leaving the water to skim her behind and devour her feet. Her arms were still wrapped about his neck.

"Okay?" he asked.

She did nothing. Said nothing. He was so _close_.

"You panicked quite a bit so I lifted you out of the water," he explained. "You can touch the bottom here though, I'll put you down."

"No!"

Silence.

Garnet's heart raced and she could feel his too, beating with ridiculous fervor inside his chest. She suddenly felt very hot and embarrassed, and felt like nothing she could say would explain or justify the fierce objection she had released. Her mind was all fuzzy and her thoughts were all but unreachable.

_Gods think think think think_

But his eyes were gleaning in the moonlight and droplets of water quivered on his eyelashes like a dusting of diamonds and his skin was milky white in the shimmering moonlight and silver reflections rippled across his skin drawing attention to his toned muscles and

His face leaned closer and his eyes fluttered shut, the dusting of diamonds raining lightly against his cheeks. His breath was hot and sweet against her skin and her stomach twisted into a tight knot and his lips brushed against hers as light as a butterfly's wings against a flower petal, touching her top lip gently - ever so gently - skimming over the bottom, capturing it and then moving again, flitting between top and bottom, never lingering but brushing so fleeting so enticingly that she just wanted _more _and he was so gentle, so tentative but he was pressing harder now and his tongue trailed across her bottom lip and she knew it would taste of the pool water and of Zidane and of love and of _gods _-

"I'll get down now," she gasped abruptly, startling even herself, let alone him.

He nearly dropped her.

"Oh y-yeah, sure." He lowered her too fast into the water and stumbled a little, submerging her up to the chin. He did not help her.

"Ha, oh gods, sorry, didn't mean to let you down that fast, guess I err… slipped a little."

Garnet pushed sopping hair from her eyes, abruptly aware of her ill-concealed dignity again. "Oh no, that's fine. Better head back anyway."

There was a terrible remorse in his eyes. A hurt and shame she had never seen in a man and it ate her up inside. Why? Why had she pushed him away?

He looked hard at her for several moments then turned and waded from the pool, the magic that had swathed the air with heady scent had vanished with startling abruptness.

_Oh gods what have I done? Why? I've hurt him so much! Say something anything don't let him walk away!_

"Zidane!" she called after him, still not knowing what to say. _Anything_. "Th-thank you… for teaching me how to…to… swim."

He looked over his shoulder and smiled weakly. "S'okay."

"No I mean it," she pressed. "I… I want you to know that…" Pause. "I do trust you. I really do. And… what you said before…?"

"Hmm?"

_(I promise I wont let you go)_

"I promise that too."

He blinked at her, confused, and offered another weak smile. But that was fine with her. Zidane: so full of promises and love. And she: so frightened and weak.

Garnet watched him disappear into the shadows of the trees then made her own way back. The moon's reflection shattered and shimmered on the inky surface as if nothing had happened.

One day she would tell him that she'd known how to swim all along, but until then, it would be her little secret.

_(my pet unicorn requests reviews. It is unwise to disobey the unicorn. His horn is pointy)_


End file.
